I purchased 2018 Cha Nong Hao Meng Song Village White Tea Cake on a whim, hoping Meng Song white tea will be tasty. This white tea is all assamica, harvested in April 2018 and pressed in December 2018. Cha Nong Hao is a small batch brand, though I purchased it from Yunnan Sourcing.
Leaf and Steeping Method
Unwrapping the cake unleashed a scent bomb of floral. After it settled, the white tea smells like tulips.
Gorgeous colors on the Meng Song white tea cake, I especially love the autumn red leaves. I encountered a strange curly thing that isn’t a twist tie but some sort of plant stem.
I went with my usual white tea ratio of 1 gram of leaf per 20ml of vessel size, gongfu steeped in boiling water. The rinsed hot leaf smells like malted tulips.
Tasting of Yunnan Sourcing’s 2018 Cha Nong Hao Meng Song Villiage White Tea Cake
First, Second, Third, and Fourth Infusion: The Meng Song Village White sips in thick and coating. This tea adds cotton fluff and Pepto Bismal coating to the tongue and throat. The flavor to start is sugar cane fruity and easy to drink. Each steeping is getting subtly more bronze in colour.
Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Infusion: Cha Nong Hao Meng Song Villiage White seems to not stop. It is pretty consistent but these infusions are deepening and got to full-bodied mode. The flavor is sugar cane and lightly fruity, but there’s a malty depth back there that strengthens each infusion. Some sips I got a tulip note, and other sips have a mineral rocky note. It is also still incredibly fluffy thick and dense of a tea. Meng Song Villiage White is easy to drink but has a concrete slab feel on the body. There is a looming astringency that dries the tip of the tongue, but it is mild and never gets any stronger.
Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Infusion: I’m doing 15 minutes infusions here. The 2018 Meng Song Villiage White sips in like a mid-session malty mineral black tea. I can’t tell if this was a white tea at some point as it is full-bodied, a bit of astringency, and lots of malty flavor depth.
I was feeling the energy of this white tea and it is relaxing for a white tea. I’m chill and in the zone. Along with writing this review, I got 4 rows of boring knitting done in one sitting. You can drink this tea and get into a mindset to juggle boring data entry spreadsheets all day.
Eleventh Infusion: I let the Meng Song White steeping go for 25 minutes. It’s still thick, malty and minerally, going quite sweet – very hong cha like. The astringency is there, like a cat’s tongue. I could probably stove boil this tea for another round.
No grade of white tea is mentioned. I assumed it was a shou mei as it doesn’t seem buddy enough to be a bai mu dan, but there is a bud or two in my gaiwan.
Comments
2018 Cha Nong Hao Meng Song Village White Tea Cake has excellent resteep ability, thick texture, and full-bodied flavor. If you like your white teas dark and chewy, this already has it with age to darken up.
Yunnan Sourcing’s 2018 Meng Song White tea is a great tea to age as it is already jump-started to be dark profiles. You will especially like this tea if you love black tea and strong shou mei profiles. I’m happy I purchased this tea and tempted to grab another cake but likely I won’t as I have too much tea.
